


A Silver Lining

by orphan_account



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Lost Future Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-23 14:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23346391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: An AU of Lost Future where Claire and Hershel get to spend time together before Claire has to return to her own time. From both perspectives.
Relationships: Claire/Hershel Layton, Hershel Layton & Luke Triton
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Time Waits for No Woman

**Author's Note:**

> I found an old fanfiction from 2017 on my old laptop where I wrote about Claire meeting up with Hershel and them getting to spend time together before she had to die. It was in first person from her POV. I didn't quite finish it, so I edited it. It reminded me of a similar fanfic I wrote in 2019 from Hershel's POV, so I decided to put them together. 
> 
> They're both different, but they have the same plot, pretty much, so I thought they would complement each other.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From Claire's perspective.

A flash of white light, and then Claire’s surroundings came into focus. She was lying on the floor with hundreds of clocks above me. Where was she?

She sat up and tried not to panic. She held her head, letting out a small groan, as the room spun. She waited for the feeling to be over then noticed the large clock in front of her. It looked just like the time machine Dimitri, Bill and she built together…

Memories came back to Claire in flashes. She was the test subject for that machine. The explosion is vivid in her mind, or at least the millisecond before everything went dark. Was she dead? Or in heaven? She had no clue, and it scared her.

"Good gracious! Cogg, come quick!" A voice pierced the silence. "I think this lady’s hurt!"

Two figures appeared in front of Claire. One was a short woman with purple hair piled on top of her head and the other was a slightly taller man with a long brown beard and moustache. They seemed friendly but why were they here?

"Are you alright?" The man named Cogg said. Quite fitting for a clock shop, Claire mused. "How did you get here?"

She couldn’t answer either of those questions. She was still trying to process what had happened. So she settled with just shaking her head. "Could I get a glass of water please?"

Cogg and the woman looked at each other with worried glances, thinking Claire didn’t notice.

"Of course," the woman said. She scurried away to possibly the kitchen and Cogg helped Claire to her feet.

"You seem to have suffered quite a fall. You’ve bruised your head pretty badly." Cogg said, lightly touching her forehead. She winced and he pulled his hand away. "Sorry."

"It’s okay." She felt an urge to laugh. She feared that she would fall into hysterics. Deep breaths.

"I’m Cogg, by the way," he said, giving her a smile. "And who might you be?"

"Celeste.” It was automatic. She didn’t quite know why, but she didn’t feel like giving out her real name just yet.

"Nice to meet you, Celeste. You have also met Spring, my wife. We run this little clock shop here."

Claire nodded. She felt that it was better to play along than ask too many questions. She could draw too much attention to herself. That was the last thing she needed.

As if on cue, Spring reappeared with a glass of water.

"Thank you." Claire took the glass and took a big gulp. Time travel was apparently thirsty work.

"Spring, this is Celeste." Cogg introduced her.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Celeste."

She smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Spring. I’ve been wondering, what does that clock do over there?" She pointed to the large clock right in front of her.

"Oh, that old thing? We’re not really sure, if we’re honest. It’s been broken for ages. Cogg has almost given up on it, haven’t you?" She turned to her husband, and he nodded in defeat.

"Yes, unfortunately. It would be great to see it up and running again."

Strange... the clock face looked almost exactly like the one that was on the time machine in the lab...

"Yes, that’s a shame." The words that they’d said flew right over her head. She couldn’t take all this in. It was overwhelming. The sight of her charred lab coat didn’t help. Her breathing was shallow.

"Are you alright, Celeste?" Cogg asked, looking concerned to Claire.

"Yes. I just need some fresh air." Without wasting a second, she strode for the front door and opened it. She couldn’t stay in there much longer, it was stifling. She didn’t have a second thought about appearing rude. Hershel would be disappointed in her.

The London Claire laid her eyes on was definitely not the same one she knew like the back of her hand.

There was construction work going on outside the shop. The last time Claire passed here was at most two days ago, and there was no construction then. It was a possibility that they’d started it yesterday, but they can’t have got this fair already!

Claire reminded herself not to ask questions, and walked on by as if everything was as it should be. Walking down the streets that she knew so well, she realised something was very wrong. Nothing was as she remembered.

Claire would have got the bus to town to get some new clothes, but it was close to collapse and so decided to give it a miss.

Just before she was about to make her way to the train station - if it was even still there - she came across a note. It was pinned up to the bus shelter. The bus route was apparently discontinued.

Claire was deeply confused. The bus service was absolutely fine! She remembered taking the bus to the lab only yesterday! Then she noticed the date. 1974.

What?!

She jumped back and her heart began to race. How could that be possible?! It was 1964 the last time she had checked!

There  _ had _ to have been some mistake.

Claire spotted a passer-by and scrapped the idea of blending in. She needed to know if she really had travelled in time. Did the time machine really work? 

"Excuse me!"

The woman turned around, flustered. "Yes? What is it?"

"I’m sorry. I’m, uh, late for a meeting, and my watch is all wrong. Could you tell me the time?"

She suppressed cringing. What was asking for the time going to solve? It was useless if she didn’t know the date.

She looked at her watch. "It’s coming up to half past twelve, I’d say. I’m just about to go and have lunch."

"Thank you. Have a nice lunch, ma’am." Claire had considered trying again, but she chickened out. She wasn’t going to embarrass herself so soon. She could figure this out herself.

"Thank you," the woman nodded. She didn’t seem too flustered by the sudden intrusion. Claire silently prided herself on her acting skills.

Once the woman had left, Claire made her way onto the main streets to find a clothing shop. She couldn’t wear this coat in public. People would become suspicious, especially from the burn marks.

She ducked into the nearest shop she could find and picked out a new outfit. It wasn’t so hard, she soon realised. The styles were a lot different from her usual taste, however. Maybe this really was the future.

“Excuse me? Can I try this on please?”

“Of course, my dear,” the shopkeeper smiled. She gave Claire a look up and down but kept the smile. It was quite unnerving. “How about you keep them on? If you wish to buy the clothes, of course.”

Claire was grateful for that. At least it was one less thing to worry about. “Yes. I think I might. Thank you very much.”

In the end, she did end up keeping the outfit she first chose. She paid at the desk then added a hat onto the pile. It would easily obscure her face if need be. She even was given a plastic bag to store her old clothes. Claire couldn’t quite part with them yet.

Next, she intended on going to a café. She wanted to see if there was some sort of reference she could use to find the year. Unfortunately, there was no such thing in the previous shop. She also to get some food. She was starving.

As Claire was walking along, taking in this new London, she saw a big top hat coming down the street towards her. She almost froze in place. It can’t be…

Soon enough, Claire saw the face the hat was attached to. She wouldn’t mistake that face anywhere. Hershel Layton. He had a small boy with him, but she didn’t care about that now. She couldn’t stop staring.

But she couldn’t let him see her. If this was all true, and she really had travelled in time, what would he think? She wasn’t sure he would be able to handle it. The man was a genius, but not many people could comprehend seeing their dead girlfriend come back to life. She had to keep moving.

Claire kept her eyes fixed to the ground and didn’t dare look up, even when she passed right near him. It broke her heart, but she couldn’t talk to him yet. It was too much for her.

The little boy was talking to him, and it took all her willpower not to look back. She had to keep going.

Finally, she found a cafe. She tried to put the last few moments out of her mind as she joined the queue. She considered a few times, asking the person in front of her for the year. She couldn’t do it. She would sound insane! Hopefully, someone would be reading a newspaper somewhere.

Claire ordered a latte and sat down at a free table. She could hear chatter all around her, and she allowed herself to relax. Everything will be okay, she said to herself.

There were two young women sat next to her. One of them looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her up but the other woman was smiling sympathetically. They were holding hands.

"Just ignore them, Emma," the woman said. "Let them stare." It was then that I noticed that a few of the customers kept glancing at Emma and the other woman. They were giving them quite dirty looks. Claire felt sorry for them. All they’re doing is sitting in a cafe, enjoying themselves. By now, Claire had figured that the two women were seeing each other, and that was why people were staring. Claire found it to be quite silly.

"You’re right," Emma smiled. "It is 1974, after all. People should really be more accepting. We’ve been around since the dawn of time!"

Claire had taken a sip of her coffee and almost spat it back out all over the table. How could this be possible?! How could the time machine have worked?

“Are you all right?” One of the women was talking to Claire.

She straightened up and tried to stop the coughing. “Sorry. I’m fine. I have a bad cough.” Claire coughed some more to try and prove her point. It sounded quite weak, but they seemed to believe her.

“If you’re sure.”

As if Claire needed any more proof, there was a newspaper beside the couple on their table. She tried not to be too obvious, but she had to lean over slightly to see the date. It was definitely 1974.

She sighed. This was a lot to take in. So Claire had really travelled in time. So what would happen to her? From what Dimitri had told her back when they worked on this project together, it wasn’t good. Her molecules would be too fragile to stay in the future. Soon enough, she would return to the present day. To the time of the explosion.

Claire could feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to spend more time with Hershel, and her friends. She regretted ever agreeing to Bill’s plans.

She quickly drained the last of her coffee and left before she really started to cry. She just had to act natural. Act like nothing was wrong.

Later on, Claire realised she had nowhere to stay. Her house probably had new tenants, and she doubted she could let herself into Hershel’s home like she used to. Maybe he had moved by now. It was weird to think how time worked.

Either way, she needed to find a place to say, and she soon came across a hotel. It was named Hotel Duke. It looked like quite a nice place. Claire figured it would be a good place to stay until this was all over.

A young lady welcomed her at the door.

"Hello, ma’am," she smiled. "My name’s Becky. Are you going to be staying with us?"

"Yes, I am. Do you have any rooms available?"

"As a matter of fact, we do. We haven’t been very busy lately."

"It’s a shame. This hotel looks lovely from what I’ve seen."

Becky laughed. "Thank you, ma’am. Now, you can sign in at the reception, and we can get you sorted."

Claire nodded and walked over to the front desk. She was met with an old woman who looked as if she had fallen asleep.

She stood, unsure of what to do. Then, before Claire even needed to do anything, the woman jerked awake and blinked at me for a moment. "Oh, sorry," she said. "I didn’t see you come in."

"That’s alright," Claire smiled. "I’d like a room please. Just for me."

"Just you? I thought a lovely lady like you would have a man to share it with."

She blushed, thinking of how Hershel could have been there with her. Sadness suddenly washed over her as she realised that he must have thought she was dead. "Thank you but, no, just me."

"If you’re sure." She rummaged around in a bag and produced a pen. "If you could just sign here."

"Of course."

She smiled and took the paper from me. "All done. Have a nice stay."

"Thank you.” Claire smiled back and went to join Becky.

She showed her upstairs into an average sized room with two single beds. It was good enough for Claire, especially since she knew she would only need it for today.

"This looks perfect."

"Great! Now, I’ll leave you to it. If you have any problems, you know where we are."

Claire waited until Becky had left before she made herself at home. She didn’t have any belongings to put away so she settled with looking out of the window. The architecture was so different, and it never failed to astound her. As she was admiring her surroundings, however, she saw two people walking up towards the hotel. It was Hershel and the small boy once again.

Claire quickly ducked down below the window. She couldn’t afford to let them see her. She still couldn’t believe Hershel was still wearing the hat she gave him. It was then that she allowed herself to cry. Quiet sobs filled the room. She dearly wanted to talk to him, but she couldn’t. How would he react? Would he even believe it was her? She didn’t know if she had the courage to reveal herself.

Claire heard the floor creaking as the three of them walked past her room.

“... a lady staying in that room, but we can fix you up with another one.”

She froze. They were talking about her. He was so close. It was eating her up inside. Despite her best instincts, she couldn’t keep herself from him any longer. She rushed to the door and opened it.

As she stepped out into the hallway, she realised she didn’t know what to say. She stood staring at them, open mouthed. Hershel and the boy were facing away from Claire, listening to Becky talk. 

But the girl noticed Claire, and she smiled. “Is there anything I can help you with, ma’am?”

Hershel and Luke turned to see what the matter was. As soon as Hershel had laid eyes on Claire, he froze just like Claire had done. His mouth made an ‘o’ shape, and he couldn’t move. It was like he was stuck to the floor. Luke was looking up to the professor in confusion.

Claire giggled. She must look so crazy, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was that they were together now. 

She smiled at Hershel, close to crying. “Hey.”

Hershel didn’t reply, so Becky decided to speak.

“Do, uh... do you two know each other?”

“Yeah, Professor. Do you know her?” The boy mirrored Becky. Claire noted that it was cute how he called him ‘Professor’. She was happy to see that he had finally got the teaching job he was dreaming of.

“Yes, I think so, Luke.”

There was a time where no one spoke. Claire and Hershel couldn’t take their eyes off each other. Becky decided that the two of them should be given some space.

“Hey, how about we go and play with your new toy car, Luke?” Becky suggested and immediately began ushering Luke downstairs.

Luke began to protest, but he complied in the end. He figured that the professor must know this woman somehow. He hoped he would find out why later.

The two were soon left alone and neither of them said anything for a long time. Hershel didn’t quite believe what was happening, and neither did Claire. This situation had almost never happened.

“Hey, Hershel,” Claire whispered, feeling tears sting her eyes.

“Claire?” His voice was a whisper too.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

He was still for a few more seconds, then his legs finally began to work. He all but ran to Claire, and held her in a tight embrace. Claire was surprised at this sudden affection, but she didn’t complain. She hugged him back as hard as she dared. Tears leaked from her eyes and dampened his shirt. Hershel was doing the same. It was a while until they felt stable enough to pull away. Hershel still held tight onto Claire’s shoulders and Claire onto Hershel’s waist, like any sudden movement could make her disappear.

“I honestly can’t believe this,” Hershel started, his brain trying to catch up with everything else. “Firstly, Luke and I are transported into future London and now I am reunited with you. It all seems impossible.”

Claire shrugged. “I can’t believe it either. But I’m real, I’m promise.”

“And so am I.” The corners of his lips tugged upwards into a small smile, and Claire giggled. All of this just seemed like a joke.

Claire found herself rising onto her tiptoes. Hershel had grown quite a bit since they were last together. She gently placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him. It immediately transported her back to their third date. Claire had kissed him outside his apartment on the street. It was the most nervous she had ever felt, but it was one of the most exhilarating moments of her life at the time. It was magical and Hershel had felt it too. His face had said it all. 

This time felt more familiar, like Claire had never left Hershel alone for ten long years. He was elated that they had met like this. He didn’t want to imagine how he would have taken it if this was kept a secret. Claire never wanted their kiss to end. Mostly because she knew that she couldn’t stay.

Claire pulled away and looked up at him. She smirked. “I bet you missed that, huh?”

Hershel smiled, his eyes welling with tears. He couldn’t express with words how much he had, but he tried. “Yes. I did. Very much.”

“I’m sorry.” She realised how she had reminded him of a past preferably buried.

“It’s quite alright, dear.” She loved it when he called her that. “I’m still trying to process this.”

Claire nodded. “I understand. Would you like a cup of tea to relax your mind?”

Hershel chuckled. “I would love one. Thank you, Claire.”

“I think I have a kettle in my room.”

They went back to her hotel room, and Claire put on the kettle. As they waited, they did so in silence, revelling in each other’s company. She rested her head on Hershel’s shoulder, and he took her hand in his. Hershel almost shocked himself at how affectionate he was being. He was never usually like this, not even when Claire and Hershel were first together. Maybe it was because they were in different circumstances now. 

Claire made the tea after the kettle had finished boiling, and they sat drinking in comfortable silence. A few moments passed then we heard a knock on the door. Hershel rose to open it and saw Luke and Becky.

“Hello, Luke, Becky. How can I help?”

“Luke got a bit bored of the toy car,” Becky laughed. “He also wanted to check if you were alright.”

Hershel smiled down at Luke. “Why thank you, my boy. Would you like to come in?”

Claire began to feel a little jealous then stopped herself. The boy didn’t look to be older than twelve. Why was she getting uptight about this? She drank some more tea, which helped to calm her. 

“Okay. Thank you for sitting with me, Becky,” Luke said in a perfectly gentlemanly manner.

Claire smiled. She assumed that Hershel had taught the boy these manners.

“It’s no problem, Luke. Any time,” Becky smiled. “Well, I’ll see you guys later.”

Hershel tipped his hat and closed the door once Becky’s footsteps had faded down the hall.

Luke sat down on the bed next to the love seat. Hershel took a seat next to Claire again, but he didn’t sit as close this time. It was understandable as Luke was in the room, but it made her yearn for him more.

Luke turned to me. “I don’t mean to be rude but, who are you?”

“Luke-” Hershel began to scold Luke, but Claire placed a hand on his leg to stop him from saying any more. It had immediate effect.

Claire laughed. It was a completely fair question. “Good question. My name is Claire. I knew Hershel a long time ago.”

“Why haven’t you told me about her before, Professor?” Luke tilted his head to one side, and Claire winced. There was such innocence in his eyes.

Hershel cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. “It was a sensitive subject. I didn’t tell anyone if I could help it.”

Claire frowned. Hershel had been through so much...

“Right,” Luke muttered. He clearly wanted to ask more but was undecided on whether that was appropriate.

Claire decided to take matters into her own hands. She didn’t know how to explain it but tried her best. “Okay, Luke. This may sound impossible but this is 100% true, okay?”

Luke still seemed at a loss, but he nodded regardless. “Okay.”

“I used to be the Professor’s girlfriend but...” She faltered, not knowing how to continue.

“What happened?” Luke suddenly sat up, interested.

She picked her words carefully. “I was involved in a terrible incident ten years ago.”

“An explosion,” Hershel finished. The words were hoarse, and he wished he didn’t have to say them at all. 

“Like the one where the president and Dr Stahngun disappeared?”

“Yes but more... shall we say, fatal.”

“You mean you died, Claire?!”

Claire nodded. It was unnerving how easy it was to talk about it. It was like this was all happening to someone else. “But the thing that exploded was a time machine. Dimitri, Bill, and I were working on it at the time when it exploded and I think, for a split second... it worked. Hence, why I’m still alive.”

Luke adjusted his hat, his eyes wide. “Wow. That’s something, alright.”

“It is,” Claire laughed. “I hope it wasn’t too much of a shock.”

“No, it’s okay,” Luke said. “I can take it.”

Hershel and Claire chuckled. Luke seemed so determined to be brave and unfazed, just like the professor.

Claire was becoming restless. She understood that time was not on her side. She didn’t know how much longer she had left here. As much as she appreciated Luke, she wanted to spend her last moments with Hershel. 

He wanted to be alone also. The idea that Claire could disappear any second worried him and lay heavy on his mind.

After a heavy silence, Luke figured that he possibly wasn’t needed here.

“Um, I’m gonna go downstairs and get some food. I’m starving!” He wasn’t particularly hungry, but his appetite was endless.

“All right, my boy. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah. Bye, Claire. It was lovely to meet you.”

Her eyes welled with tears. She didn’t expect the boy to be such a gentleman, especially to someone he considered a stranger. “You too, Luke.” She knew that it was likely she would never see him again.

“So who’s Luke?” Claire asked once Luke had left the room, and she had calmed down. She was curious as to how both of them seemed so close.

“He’s my...” He paused, as if he was waiting for someone to say it for him. “He’s my apprentice. Do you remember Brenda and Clark?”

Claire laughed. How could she forget? “Of course. That’s… that isn’t Luke Triton, is it? My gosh, he’s grown so much!”

Hershel chuckled. “Well, it has been ten years since you last saw him.”

She sniffed. It was sad to think how much had happened without her here. Life really did go on without her. “Yes. I suppose so.”

Hershel noticed her change and placed a hand on hers. Even though he didn’t address her sadness, she was grateful for the physical gesture.

He continued to speak. “A few years ago now, he asked to accompany me on my… adventures, shall I say? He’s been good company to have around.”

“Adventures?” Claire smirked. This could be interesting. “Like what?”

“Well, this one, for instance. We seem to have travelled in time also.”

“I guess you have. But…” Claire frowned. “How did you do that? The time machine us scientists built was destroyed.” She remembered the clock she saw in the clock shop. Was that what she thought it was?

“I’m not quite sure yet,” Hershel took her out of her thoughts. “Luke seems to have a future self that wants to speak with us, so he sent us to the Midlands Road clock shop. There was a large clock in amongst the smaller ones dotted around and that seemed to have a part to play.”

“I was there too. After the... um, the explosion, I ended up in that shop.” Flashes of the explosion went through her mind. She tried her hardest to focus on the person in front of her. There was no use worrying about that now.

“How odd,” Hershel muttered. “I’m glad you’re alright though.”

“Shame you had to wait ten years to find out,” Claire gave a sad smile.

Hershel laughed, but there was a hint of sadness to it. Tears trickled down his cheeks. Claire wiped them away with her thumbs and kissed him on the cheek.

“There’s no need to cry. I’m here now.”

“You’re right,” he smiled. “Thank you, Claire.”

She grinned, but it wasn’t because she was happy. She felt content in this moment. Knowing it would end made it even more special. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” There was no hesitation and that made her smile even more.

They kissed for a long time and neither of them noticed that it was getting dark outside.

Claire broke away suddenly. There was something happening to her.

“Hershel, what’s happening?” Her voice was shaking. Her hands were glowing. Was it her time already? Had the day passed them by without them realising?

The man looked on in shock. He had an idea of what was happening, but he didn’t want to accept it. Words got caught in his throat. 

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears. “Am I going to die here?”

Finally, he found the words he wanted to - or thought he should - say. “I think so, my dear. I won’t leave your side.” He wanted to shout, yell. She couldn’t leave him! Not again! But he kept his calm, as he had been taught. Yelling never accomplished anything.

There was a bright side to this, however. He could be with her to say goodbye to her this time.

Luke had stopped at the door outside just in time to hear Claire say those damning words. He knew enough to not intrude. He hadn’t known Claire for very long. Apparently, she had taken care for him when he was a baby but he, of course, didn’t remember. It was sad to hear she was dying again, even if she was a stranger to him. He bowed his head in silence, hoping this little thing would help.

He could hear high-pitched sobs coming from inside the room and a soothing voice, which he knew was the professor’s. Luke tried his hardest not to cry along with them both.

Hershel was trying his hardest to calm Claire down. In reality, he had no idea what to say. He was mostly mumbling things he would want to hear, and it seemed to help.

She was glowing even more now. Her whole body was encased in light. At any other time, this would have been captivating. It still was, but there was a morbid undertone.

“I’ll miss you,” Claire managed to croak out. “And our lost future.”

Hershel bowed his head and held onto his hat. He couldn’t stop the tears. He could only nod.

“I think my time is up.”

“Claire, please-” 

The hurt in her voice made her heart hurt. He still hadn’t looked up to her.

“I’m sorry, Hershel. I can’t change my fate. We’ve done enough.”

When Hershel didn’t move or speak, she lifted his chin for one last kiss. At least he smiled at that. She would miss his smile… 

And in a blinding flash, she was gone. Hershel had to cover his eyes with his arm, making his hat fall off. When he took his arm away, it was like she had never been there.

Luke quietly opened the hotel room door to see his professor with his face in his hands. He was shaking.

He tentatively went over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Professor.”

Hershel jumped and took his hands away. He didn’t hear Luke come in at all. He tried to put on a brave face, but it soon faltered. He knew he couldn’t lie to him. “Claire… she…”

“I know.”

Feeling the relief that he didn’t have to explain himself to Luke was too much for him. He began to sob quietly once again. It scared Luke to see the professor to cry so much. He had always kept his emotions away from the boy. But he quickly got used to that.

Luke sat himself down next to Hershel where Claire had once sat and put an arm around him. He couldn’t hug him from the way they were positioned, but he hoped this would be enough.

It was.


	2. A Second Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From Hershel's perspective.

“This all seems so strange. It looks so much like London, but it also doesn’t?” Luke was incredibly confused by the whole idea that they might have actually travelled in time.

“I’m inclined to agree, my boy,” Hershel murmured. He knew he shouldn’t jump to conclusions but the longer they spent in this foreign London, the more that time travel seemed plausible.

Hershel recognised the streets but none of the shops and cafés. There was even a new hotel at the top of Flatstone Street which neither Hershel and Luke had ever heard of before. An old lady told them that it was quite famous, so they pretended to follow along with her. They didn’t want to draw suspicion to themselves more than they already seemed to. A young man had already run away from Hershel in fright. He had no idea why.

They bid a good day to the lady and decided to carry up along Flatstone Street and see if they came across anything they recognised.

The two of them had only been walking for a few minutes when Hershel saw something that made him stop in his tracks.

No, it couldn’t be! That’s…

The woman seemed to have noticed Hershel too. There was a glimmer of recognition in her eyes, but she didn’t let herself stop walking. Better for him to think I don’t know him, she thought. It will save him the pain of knowing who I am and how I got here.

Hershel couldn’t move. This couldn’t be real. She couldn’t be alive after so long. For months after her death, Hershel saw her in every woman he passed on the street, once he had found the energy to venture outside. It must just be happening again. She couldn’t really be here.

The woman passed by him as if she didn’t recognise him at all, but she seemed to look tenser than before. Not that Hershel noticed in the slightest. He had no idea how to process all this. It was as if his brain had shut down.

“Professor?” Luke said warily. He had never seen the professor act like this before. It worried him.

It took a couple of seconds for the man to register. He blinked quickly and turned to the source of the noise. He managed a smile toward his friend. “Oh, Luke. I’m alright. That woman just reminded me of someone from my past. That is all.”

“But…” Luke started to speak but thought better of it. He didn’t want to overwhelm the professor any more. The man was a genius but even Luke knew that Hershel had his limits. “Never mind. Let’s just go. Maybe we can find that hotel that lady told us about!”

Luke walked off with a spring in his step. Hershel followed suit, but he was walking slower, deep in thought. She looked so much like… Claire. But if it really was her, wouldn’t she had recognised me? Hershel halted in his steps, lines creasing his forehead. How could she even be here? That explosion killed her… and others. Unless… we really were in the future!

“Luke.”

The boy looked up at him. He had noticed Hershel wasn’t walking and retraced his steps to join him. He was growing increasingly more worried. “Yes?”

“I think we really are in the future.”

Luke almost laughed. How could someone as intelligent as the professor think that? “You really think so?”

“Yes.”

Luke waited but Hershel didn’t speak, so he asked the question for him. “Was it about that woman?”

Hershel nodded. “I have a feeling that she is connected to this but it will take some explaining.”

“We have time,” Luke smiled brightly. “Let’s book a room at the hotel and you can tell me all about it. Like we did in Monte d’Or, remember?”

Hershel smiled fondly. Luke didn’t usually take charge like this, but he was grateful for it this time. He didn’t think he had the mental capacity as of now to make those kinds of decisions. “That would be wonderful, Luke. You can lead the way.”

Soon enough, as they had predicted, they came across the Hotel Duke. A girl called Becky showed them to their room and left them to it. She could tell that they needed to be left alone. Usually, she would go over the usual speel that Margaret made her say, but she thought it would be best not to today. Becky chuckled to herself as she closed the hotel room door. Margaret was probably asleep, anyway and Becky was a good liar. She would be fine.

Hershel had, of course, asked for some tea to be brought up which Becky did without much hesitation. She could take her time brewing the tea. She always welcomed an extra break.

Once they got settled in and Hershel had sipped his tea to give him some strength, he began to tell Luke all about Claire. When they first met at Gressenheller, how they became friends and then when his feelings for her became something more. There was a fair amount of blushing at that point and the professor decided to skip most of the details to save his dignity. Luke was relieved as well. He was blushing almost as much as the professor. Eventually, he got to the part of Claire’s death. Hershel stalled and hesitated many times but finally, he built up the courage to tell the last part of the story.

“Oh gosh, that’s terrible!” Luke exclaimed. The sudden noise made Hershel’s eyes prickle with tears. He had been on edge the entire story. Luke noticed and quickly apologised. “Sorry, Professor. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” At least he was quieter this time.

Hershel chuckled and dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve. “It’s alright, my boy. I’m just on edge at the moment.”

“Oh, alright. So… uh, do you think Claire might be that woman you saw?”

“Yes but I’m not completely certain. I would have to speak to her.”

Luke frowned. London was a big city, and he doubted they would cross paths again. “I don’t know if we’ll see her again, you know.”

Hershel had considered that possibility but he couldn’t give up, not so early on. “Possibly but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep an eye out for her while we explore a little more. Perhaps we will see her on our way to meet your future self.”

Luke suddenly looked terrified and Hershel laughed. 

“Hey,” Luke pouted. “It’s scary, you know, meeting your future self.”

Hershel nodded. “I understand. I apologise for laughing.”

Luke smiled. “It’s fine. I was only joking.”

“Of course. Well, why don’t we go and meet the man in question?”

“Uh, sure.”

Hershel smiled and stood up out of his seat. He offered his hand and Luke took it and let himself be pulled out of his seat. “It will be alright, Luke. If he’s anything like you, I’m sure he’s a true gentleman.”

Hearing that from the man he admired the most, Luke was flustered. He giggled and thanked Hershel with a grin on his face. “Well, I learned from the best.”

Not being the kind to let his true emotions show, Hershel settled with smiling and tipping his hat. “Why, thank you. Now, let’s get going.”

Their meeting with Future Luke quashed any doubts that this wasn’t future London. Hershel was wary of taking Luke into the casino but he knew that they needed to meet with his future self to progress with their investigation. There was a slight bump - let’s say - in their rendezvous but Hershel kept calm and found a way out. Future Luke had helped him along the way. Hershel felt proud that even after all this time, Luke still strived to be a true gentleman and had followed his advice from years ago.

When he told the other Luke this, the boy puffed out his chest and stood with his arms folded. “Professor! Of course, I’m a true gentleman in the future! Why wouldn’t I be?!”

Hershel chuckled. “Now, Luke. I didn’t mean to question your loyalties. I only mentioned this because I thought you would like to hear it.”

Luke slouched again and felt guilty of his outburst. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I did like hearing it. I just misinterpreted the meaning behind it.”

“It’s alright, my boy,” Hershel smiled. “I’m glad I got through to you in the end.”

Future Luke had chuckled at their misunderstanding, not because it reminded him of times in the past but because it was simply amusing to him.

The three of them met up with Shipley who told them about Evil Layton and where he resided. According to him, it was the Towering Pagoda in Chinatown. Hershel was vaguely familiar with it, but he assumed it had changed a lot since they had travelled into the future.

“So I think we’re gonna have to split up,” Future Luke said. “It’ll be the only way to increase our chances in finding Layton. Sorry, Professor, I meant Evil Layton,” he added quickly after he saw Hershel raise his eyebrows.

He smirked. “I was only pulling your leg, Luke. But I agree. We should split up. I’ll go with Little Luke.”

Luke sulked and Future Luke laughed.

“You’ll need to grow up a bit before we can call you Big Luke.”

“Hey!”

“Now, now, let’s not bicker.” Hershel found this quite amusing, but he also knew that time was of the essence. “We need to be off soon.”

“Of course,” Future Luke nodded. “I’ll see if I can’t find a way into the Towering Pagoda.”

“Alright, but be careful.”

“Always. I’ll see you two later then. Stay safe.”

Hershel could tell he meant it. “You too, Luke.”

“Professor, I’m not going-- Oh, never mind. You meant him.”

Future Luke smirked. “Yes, he meant me. Now, I gotta dash. See you.”

Hershel and Little Luke watched Future Luke leave the restaurant. They both bid Shipley farewell, and they left also and made their way to Chinatown. 

Once again, Hershel and Luke were walking down the street when that woman showed up again. Hershel stopped in his tracks, mouth open just slightly. It has to be her, he thought. It can’t be anyone else.

Evidently, she hadn’t seen him and kept on walking. He couldn’t let her out of his sight, so he took to running after her.

She rounded the corner before he could get to her, and she seemed to have disappeared from view. A small bump like that never stopped him though. He kept at it, forgetting completely about Luke who was trying to run after him.

“Professor! Where are you going? I can’t keep up!” He panted, a few yards behind the professor. 

In the end, he had to sit down and decided to just wait for him to come back. 

Hershel was also out of breath but it seemed that he was running on adrenaline and the hope that Claire could still be alive. Nothing could stop him.

He had a fair idea of where he was going since this new London was very similar to the old one, but he didn’t know where Claire could be. He turned into yet another side street, and he was about to give up when he saw her standing, looking into a shop window. From where Hershel was standing, he couldn’t make it out but as he walked tentatively closer to Claire, he saw that it was a jeweller’s.

“Claire…” 

His voice was barely above a whisper but Claire heard anyway. She had been on edge since she heard someone running and had taken to a run herself, scared that it was someone from the Family. She hadn’t been able to run any further than this and was tuned to the smallest of noises. Yet, when she heard a very familiar voice, she felt like she could cry.

Hearing him say her name, she knew she couldn’t hide it any longer. 

“Hershel!”

She ran to him with the little breath she had left and flung her arms around him, sobbing into his jacket. It hadn’t been very long since she had last seen him but having a near-death experience (and what she predicts will most likely be a literal death experience, given what she knows about time travel) really took a toll on her emotions. As would be expected, of course.

He held her in his arms for the first time in ten years. He couldn’t quite believe it was real. He never thought he would get another chance to be with her again. He had to confirm this was real. “Is- is it really you?”

“Of course! I still have that pocket watch you gave me. And I see you’re still wearing your hat.”

Hershel choked up at that. He breathed deeply to calm himself then replied, “Of course I am. It is quite embarrassing to admit but I’m rarely without it.”

Claire giggled and pulled away to take a look at him. “Well, I did tell you to never take it off but I didn’t think you would take that literally.”

Hershel smiled, still not believing that she was really here. “Well, I doubt I would have if… you know.”

Claire nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. “Yes, I understand.” Seeing the elation in his eyes made her feel guilty. This wasn’t going to last forever. “I- I have to tell you something. I think you’ll want to sit down.”

Hershel’s brow furrowed and Claire almost cried at how cute he looked. “Alright. I have to warn you though that I’m not as nimble as I used to be.”

Claire snorted. “I would say me neither but… uh, please just sit and I’ll tell you.”

Hershel was possibly even more confused than a few moments ago, but he played along. They both sat outside on the doorstep of the jeweller’s (which was closed so Hershel was pleased to know they wouldn’t get in the way of anyone) and Claire told him what she had been so scared to. She told him that she had really travelled ten years in time but her body was fragile. She wouldn’t last long here, for 24 hours at most, according to Dimitri. She said she had been scared to tell him or even acknowledge his existence for fear of hurting him but it felt so good to get it off of her chest that she felt like she had made the right decision.

Hershel agreed wholeheartedly. His heart possibly would have broken even more if he only found out at the last minute that she really had been Claire this whole time.

“From what I’ve learned, it’s better to tell the truth rather than try to lie in order to save someone’s feelings.”

“Yes, that’s what I was thinking. I intended to keep this a secret but I couldn’t bear to keep this from you when we could spend time together.”

“Mmm.” Hershel still couldn’t believe all this. It was impossible. He felt a hand on his, and he looked over to Claire. She was smiling, tears welling in her eyes.

“Hershel… I thought I would never see you again.”

She looked so distraught that Hershel almost started crying himself. “I thought the same, my dear. It’s been ten years... I would have never thought we would be together again like this.”

Claire broke eye contact, tears falling into her lap. “I love you, Hershel.”

His words got stuck in his throat. He had been so used to closing himself off to affection that it was almost alien to hear those words being said to him again, after so long. Eventually, he was able to repeat it back to her and her smile was so wide that Hershel couldn’t help but grin back at her.

They shared a kiss and Hershel felt the happiest he had felt in a long time. He knew this wouldn’t last forever, but he wished it could, and he would make sure to savour every moment with her.

Claire was about to kiss him again when they both heard a shout from a small boy. Hershel felt incredibly guilty. He had forgotten all about Luke.

“Professor! I worried something had happened to you. I-” He stopped in his tracks to look at Claire. “Professor, is this the woman you told me about last night?”

Hershel’s cheeks burned red, but he tried to compose himself as he turned to Luke with a smile. “Yes, it is, my boy. I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you. I was too… ah, distracted.”

Luke grinned. “It’s okay! I’m just glad you found her.”

Claire was quite taken aback. She didn’t expect a child to come running after Hershel, let alone to be referred to by the man as his ‘boy’. “Hershel,” she started, unsure. “Who’s this?”

He turned back to his girlfriend, still with a smile. “Not to worry, my dear. This is Luke. Do you remember Luke Triton? Clark and Brenda’s son?”

A lightbulb flickered on in Claire’s head. Her eyes lit up. “Oh, of course! He looks so different now! I didn’t recognise him at all.”

Luke moved closer now that the woman seemed to be familiar with him. He hadn’t wanted to intrude, but he also needed to sit down. He was still a little out of breath after running the rest of the way to find the professor.

“Luke, Claire used to help me babysit you when your parents were away,” Hershel explained to the confused boy.

Slightly disappointed that he didn’t call Luke his apprentice, he nodded his head sombrely. “I don’t remember but sure. Nice to meet you, Claire.”

Claire smiled at him, but she could tell something was up. She sighed and turned to Hershel. “I could give you two some space if you need it.”

“Oh, not at all!” He said a bit too eagerly. “You can join us on our little quest, shall we call it?”

Claire giggled. “I’d be honoured, Hershel.”

So the three of them set off towards Chinatown with Hershel and Claire walking side by side, their arms linked. Luke felt left out behind the two of them but the couple made sure to talk to Luke every now and then and tried to walk slower to accommodate him. Luke noticed they were making the effort, and he was grateful for that.

“So what are we here for exactly?” Claire asked as they got closer to their destination.

“We are currently looking for my future self. Apparently I have an evil doppelgänger in the future.”

Claire rolled her eyes with a smile. “You? Evil? As if!”

Hershel smiled. “Well, if this future is real, I’ll have to be careful with how I act, won’t I?”

She elbowed him in the ribs, giggling. “Don’t jinx it!”

His ribs didn’t hurt in the slightest but Hershel pouted and held his hand to his side as if it did. Claire profusely apologised until Hershel laughed and told her he was only pulling her leg. They both laughed then shared a kiss.

Luke had tried not to watch this, but he was surprised that the professor could act in a joking manner like this. It was like he was a different person. Luke almost felt jealous that he had never seen the professor act like this. Couldn’t he be himself around Luke?

“Luke, quick. Over here.”

Luke wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, and he almost walked right in front of two individuals. He looked over to see Hershel and Claire crouching behind some crates.

“Oh, sorry,” Luke whispered. He ducked behind the crates before the men saw him. He took a better look at the duo and frowned. “They don’t look very intimidating.”

Hershel chuckled. “I agree, my boy. But they may be part of the Family.”

“Yes, I think so,” Claire said.

“They kind of look like Chelmey and Barton, don’t they, Professor?”

“Yes, I agree. Actually that reminds me-”

“Of a puzzle, right?” Luke tried his best not to look exasperated. He would not be surprised in the slightest if the man dropped a puzzle his way at this time. He usually liked the puzzles from the professor but this really wasn’t the time for one.

Claire giggled and Hershel blushed. “Not quite,” he said. “It reminded me that I needed to ask Chelmey something.”

“Can we get back to our own time though?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m sure your future self will know something like that.”

“We can.”

Both Hershel and Luke turned to Claire in surprise. “How- how do you know that?” They said almost in chorus.

Claire grinned. “Let’s just say the experience I have in time travel has finally become useful.”

Hershel smiled. “If you say so.”

Luke was surprised that Hershel immediately went along with Claire. Maybe she wasn’t telling the truth, or she was just guessing. But he decided to let it go for now. Besides, Hershel knew Claire better than Luke did.

The lookalike Chelmey and Barton were deep in conversation, so they didn’t see the three of them leave, but they made their way to the clock shop when they heard Future Luke shouting for them.

“Professor! I thought you were in Chinatown!”

“Hello, Luke. There were two men standing outside the archway. I believe they were part of the Family, so we didn’t try to get past them.”

Future Luke nodded. “Wise move. Oh, who’s this?”

“This is Claire. She’s my, ah, girlfriend from a few years back.”

Claire bit back a grin. It’s been a bit more than a few years, she thought. She didn’t want to embarrass Hershel though, so she kept quiet.

“Oh, is that so?” He raised an eyebrow towards Claire. “It’s lovely to meet you, Claire.”

They shook hands and Little Luke thought of something.

“Hey. If you’re future me, wouldn’t you have already met Claire before? I met her an hour ago.”

Future Luke seemed flustered, but he did a good job at not showing it. “Oh, I suppose that’s correct. However, it has been a long time. Ten years, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah. Guess so,” Luke mumbled, shuffling his feet. He felt quite ashamed of speaking his mind.

Hershel put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. Whether it was for comfort or if it was just a habit, Luke didn’t know, but he felt better regardless.

“Shall we get going?” Hershel asked the group. “We were on our way to the clock shop. I wanted to ask Inspector Chelmey something important. I assume we can get back to our own time?”

“Yes. I’m quite impressed you figured that out, Professor,” Future Luke grinned. “Although you are a genius, so I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Hershel chuckled. “Thank you, Luke, but it was Claire’s idea, not mine.”

“Really?” Future Luke looked to Claire.

“Yes. I’m quite knowledgable on time travel. I used to work on a time machine, in fact. A long time ago now.”

“Oh, great.” There was a strain in Luke’s voice but none of the three could figure out why. They decided not to press him.

They got to Midland Road with no mishaps, apart from a door that they had to force open, and they easily made it back to their own time. Hershel and both Lukes seemed to have no trouble with the time skip but Claire felt quite nauseous. They had to sit down on the shop floor and wait for Claire’s sickness to go away. Future Luke was getting impatient but Hershel’s glare meant that he didn’t make any comments.

“Are you alright, my dear?” He took Claire’s hand and felt her forehead for a fever.

She took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m fine. I shouldn’t be feeling like this though. I’ve time travelled before, right? But this felt different.”

Future Luke panicked. “Uh, I’m sure it was nothing. But if you’re feeling okay, Claire, let’s go. We don’t have a lot of time to waste.”

Hershel didn’t stop Claire from getting up and agreeing with Luke that they should go. Thankfully, they all forgot about Claire’s setback from earlier and it wasn’t brought up again.

Claire was quite taken aback by how everything had changed in London since she was last there. It looked different from future London, of course, but this was also future London to her. Despite her knowing a lot about time travel, this was very confusing to her. 

She couldn’t stop looking around and taking everything in while they were walking down the streets. Hershel kept glancing at Claire and smiling whenever she commented on how different all the buildings were. They were halfway to Scotland Yard (they didn’t want to take the bus in case Claire’s nausea flared up again) when Claire stopped in her tracks.

“Hershel.”

He came up next to her and followed her finger. He recognised the restaurant’s name immediately. It was the restaurant he had taken her to where he had planned to propose but, regrettably, chickened out at the last minute.

They turned to each other and smiled. It had a tinge of sadness to it. It was the last time they had gone out for a meal together before Claire died or rather travelled in time. They had both been busy with their respective jobs.

Hershel didn’t know what to say in response but Claire took his hand. She had a wide grin on her face. “Why don’t we go and have dinner there? Just like old times.”

His eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

She nodded eagerly. “Of course! It will be fun, won’t it?”

Both Lukes looked ready to protest. They were on a very important mission, of course. Future Luke opened his mouth but Little Luke stared at him with a ferocity that shut him up. In the little time they had all spent together, Future Luke understood that the other Luke cared for the professor a lot, and the professor clearly cared about this woman too. So maybe he should let this all play out. Nothing bad will happen while they’re at the restaurant. He will make sure of it.

The four of them made sure they talked to the inspector first. Claire said she would wait outside Scotland Yard in case anyone recognised her. The last thing she wanted to do was to give Chelmey a heart attack. 

Once that was all sorted, Future Luke and Little Luke gave Hershel and Claire some space. Little Luke was grumbling a bit as they walked away. He clearly was still a little jealous but Future Luke tried his best to distract him and soon, they were both having just as good a time as Hershel and Claire.

“A table for two, is it, sir?”

“Yes,” Hershel smiled, tipping his hat to the waiter.

“Right this way then.”

They both sat down at a table and ordered drinks. Claire giggled when Hershel asked for tea and then was told there wasn’t any available. The two of them settled with wine and the waiter walked away. Silence descended over the couple and Hershel began to panic. What if this was all for nothing, and they wasted their chance at their last date together?

“Hershel.”

He snapped out of his daze. “I apologise, my dear. I was daydreaming, shall I say.”

“About what?”

His cheeks tinged pink, even though he knew it was nothing embarrassing. “Oh, about today, actually. Er, how long do you… have here?”

Claire looked down at her hands with a frown. Hershel worried he had said something wrong but she replied after a few seconds. “Oh, well, I’m not sure but I hope I get to spend the rest of the day with you like this.”

Hershel chuckled. “I do too. This is bringing up memories, in fact, of when we came here before.”

Claire nodded. “I was hoping it might.”

He cleared his throat, remembering what he wanted to ask Claire the first time. “I- I remember something I had wanted to tell you so long ago. But I…”

“You were nervous? I could tell,” She finished his sentence with a smile. “Do you feel ready to tell me now?”

Hershel pulled at his collar. He wasn’t sure whether it would be appropriate to tell her, especially when neither of them was sure how long Claire would be a part of this world. But he knew she was waiting and most likely wouldn’t give up asking him.

He took a deep breath and said it quickly before he stopped himself. “I was going to ask for your hand in marriage, but I wasn’t sure whether it would be the right time to ask now-” 

Hershel trailed off when he saw Claire’s expression. She looked close to crying, but she looked over the moon at the same time.

“Did I say something wrong? I-” 

Yet again, he didn’t finish his sentence as Claire reached across the table and clasped his hands. 

“No, you didn’t. I just wished you said it sooner, then we could’ve got married today.”

They both laughed and Claire planted a quick kiss on his cheek, despite the two of them not being fond of showing affection in public.

The waiter raised his eyebrows at the professor as he brought the drinks over and asked if they were ready to order. Neither of them had glanced at the menu, but they knew what to order straight away. Both of them had remembered their first outing here together, one for a lot longer than the other.

The rest of the dinner was great. Claire had been worrying about the effects of time travel since she had arrived in this future London but, for the first time that day, she didn’t think about it at all. She was only thinking of Hershel and how amazing it was to see him again. She knew she must go soon, but she felt like she was ready. Her last moments will be with Hershel and possibly the two Lukes who were true gentlemen as far as she could tell. They had learned from the best, after all.

So when the couple were standing in the dark alleyway with tears trickling down their cheeks, Claire felt warm when she looked at Hershel, and she was thankful of all the time they spent together, and she hoped he felt the same way.


End file.
